Before Reading:
Several days before starting the unit, send a letter to your student(s). With the letter, enclose a treasure hunt map that you have created using simple, noticeable landmarks or distinctives
of your classroom, your home, or your backyard. Once the letter arrives and they open it, have them use relative location words such as next to, near, across from, etc. and follow the map to lead them to a book (Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie), a world map, black and
white world maps, blue and green crayons, small circle stickers, and small star or heart stickers that you have hidden inside of a suitcase. (If using this at home, maybe include
warm hats, sunglasses, and a snack for traveling as well!)

After the excitement of finding the suitcase and taking a peek inside, focus children's attention
on the map. Let the children look at the map and describe what they see. What do they already know about maps? Point out that there are two main areas of a map. The land areas
and the areas of water. Give each child their own black and white world map. Have them color the land areas green and the water blue.

Explain that the land areas are called continents and the large water areas are called oceans.

Locate where you live on the world map and place the star or heart sticker there. Explain that in the story of Toot and Puddle, one of the pigs wants to travel to lots of different places
around the world while the other pig prefers to stay home. Have students brainstorm ways Toot could travel to get from where we live to both close and far away places. Where do
you think he might go? Where would you want to go? What will he need to take with him? What type of clothes might he need? What might he need to take with him so he knows
where he is going next? (clothes, suitcase, camera, maps) Explain that we will first read about all of Toot's adventures and then, after the story, we will use the circle stickers to map where he went.

After Reading:

Place a circle sticker on each place Toot visited. Write a numeral 1 on the first destination, a numeral 2 on the second destination, etc.

Review with students what happened in the book, Toot and Puddle. Which location was their favorite from the story? Why?

Look closely at the postcards that Toot sent to Puddle. Point out the common elements such
as the stamp, postmark with date and location, the cancellation mark, the opening, the closing, the address, etc. Bring in real pieces of canceled mail as well to locate the similar items on
letters and envelopes (such as the ones children received in the mail from you).

Watch a video or read a book such as Here Comes the Mail by Gloria Skurzynski, The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves by Gail Gibbons, A Day with a Mail Carrier
by Jan Kottke, and/or Where Does the Mail Go? by Melvin Berger to learn how mail is delivered and where it goes once you send it!

Read Where Is My Continent? by Robin Nelson Stress that we (and Toot and Puddle) live
on the continent of North America, which is between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Look at the world map where we marked Toot's travels. Did Toot visit any places in North America?

Teach children the names of the six other continents as well. Sing 'The Continents Song',
using either the one created by Dr. Jean or the one based on Dr. Jean's song which has a slight change of words (for Christian schools/families).

Help students to name and locate all seven continents using clues, such as the following North America  the continent where we liveSouth America  the continent just south of North America, our neighboring continent
Europe  the continent attached to Asia with only mountains dividing themAsia  the largest continentAfrica  the continent in which part of it is covered with the largest desert in the world
Australia  the smallest continent, which is also an island. (In the book of Toot and Puddle, Toot visits the Solomon Islands, which are part of the continent of Australia. Locate
the Solomon Islands that Toot traveled to. Define an island as being land that is completely surrounded by water.)Antarctica  the continent on the bottom of the globe. It is very cold here and is covered in
ice. It is so cold that scientists only stay there for a short time. Only penguins live along the shore. The summer is only as warm as our winter.

Which continents did Toot visit? Which continent did he visit most often? Which continents did Toot not visit?

Day 4

Sing 'The Continents Song' and review the names and locations of each continent.

Help students to name and locate the four oceans.(You may also want to take time to explain that oceans are salt water and cover almost
Ύ of the earth's surface. Show Ύ of a circle to demonstrate that there is more water than land on the earth. We can not drink water from the ocean! We can only drink
water that comes from fresh water sources such as rivers and lakes, which do not contain salt.)Pacific- the largest ocean, west of United States, between North America and Asia. Atlantic- the second largest ocean, east of the United States, between North America and
Europe, curves like an 's'Indian- South of Asia, the country of India seems to point towards it, north of Antarctica, south of Asia, east of AfricaArctic- north of North America, surrounds the North pole (The Arctic is not near
Antarctica! The Southern ocean is there. Not all maps have this one labeled. It is directly north of Antarctica and is the southern most ocean.)

Work on a world puzzle together.

Reread Toot and Puddle or listen to a recording as students follow along in the book.

Ahead of time, pack a large purse or satchel with 'souvenirs' that Toot might have brought
back from each location of his journey. Let students take turns pulling out an item, describing it, and then trying to determine which location it might have come from. (They can look at the
pictures of Toot's travels in the book for help.) Point out the location on the map, reiterating the name of the continent he was visiting.

Day 5

Sing 'The Continents Song' and review the names and locations of each continent.

Review the names and locations of the four oceans.

Find the equator on a globe. It is an imaginary line to divide the top and bottom half of the
earth. Near the equator, it is very warm all year long no matter what season. As we travel north or south of the equator, it becomes colder. Locate the Northern Hemisphere and the
North Pole as well as the Southern Hemisphere and the South Pole. Explain that the seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. For example, if it is summer in the
Northern Hemisphere, it would be winter in the Southern Hemisphere.

Locate where we live on the world map. Are we located in the Northern or Southern hemisphere?

Review all the locations that Toot visited. Did he travel to any places that were in the Southern Hemisphere/Northern Hemisphere? Which ones? (Most areas that Toot visited
were close to the equator or in the Northern Hemisphere.)

Look back at the pictures in the book. Were Toot and Puddle experiencing different seasons?

What clothing did Toot need at each location? (Make a suitcase using a folded piece of 9
by 12 construction paper and some handles. Label one side of the suitcase 'warm climate' and the other 'cold climate'. Color, cut out, and sort the clothing according to which climate they would be needed in.)

Review the names and locations of the continents, oceans, equator, and the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

At the beginning of the story, Toot was looking at a globe. Do you think Toot packed the
globe with him? Why not? What do you think he packed instead? What types of maps would he have needed?

How would he read the maps? Collect and share a variety of maps, such as maps for a local
park, grocery store, airport, museum, zoo, city, state, country, and world. Read a book such as Mapping Penny's World by Loreen Leedy. Note the key, symbols, and compass
rose on each map in the story and on the real ones.

Reinforce the cardinal directions (North, South, East, West).

Revisit the world map in which you marked Toot's travels. Follow his path and note whether he travels North, South, East, or West to reach his next destination.

Day 7

Read Me On the Map by Joan Sweeney.

Then, have students either make a map of the classroom or a room in your home, if you are
homeschooling. Brainstorm and make a list items in the room that can be placed on the map. Have children draw the items in the room by location. Then, have students describe items in
the room using relative locations such as next to, near, across from, etc. Mark the cardinal directions for the room using North, South, East, and West. Then ask questions, such as 'If
you stood at the door to the room, which direction is the window?'

Day 8

Toss an inflatable globe. Does your thumb land on land or water? What is the name of the
continent or ocean that your thumb landed on? Is your thumb in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere? What is directly North of where your thumb is? South? East? West?

Look back at the postcard that Toot sent to Puddle. How did the mailman know who and
where to deliver the postcard? What is Puddle's address? What is your address? Read Where Do I Live? by Neil Chesanow. Practice saying your address.

Play a mail delivery game in which students take turns reading envelopes with 'addresses' on them and delivering them to the correct 'house'.

Day 9

Review what we have learned so far about our world.

Sing 'The Continents Song'.

Put together the world puzzle as you further review the oceans and continents.

We live on Earth, on the continent of North America. Now, stress that North America has
three large countries  Canada, the United States of America, and Mexico. Central America is a skinny area of land with lots of small countries, connecting the continents of North and
South America. Use a key to color code the countries in North America, and the area called Central America.

Review stating your address.

Day 10

Next, stress that we live in the country called the United States of America, which is made up of fifty states!

Read a book about the United States of America.

Locate the capital of the United States and place a picture of the White House there.

Complete a puzzle of the United States of America.

Day 11

On a US map, locate the state you live in.

Read a book about the state you live in.

Use a key and a map of the US to color the state you live in. For example, color Indiana and
the surrounding states (north-Michigan, south-Kentucky, east-Ohio, and west-Illinois).

Which is larger  a continent, a country, or a state?

Complete a puzzle of the United States of America.

Day 12

Inside of states are many cities. Read a book about cities.

Locate the capital of the state you live in. Also, locate the city where you live.

On large chart paper, draw and map out a few primary roads in your city. Take photos of
some nearby places such as stores, a bank, gas station, fire station, school, our neighborhood, park, etc. Print the photos and place them on the map. OR Print a map of your city using
maps.google.com . Print photos of places in your city. Place large dots next to the photos and smaller dots on the map where those places are located. Number the dots accordingly.
Give students directions to one of the places and let them discover where they traveled to.

Day 13

Located in our city are various neighborhoods. Read a book about neighborhoods.

Review stating your address.

View our street and home (or your school) using maps.google.com .

Make a map of our street and the surrounding houses.

Day 14

Sing 'The Continents Song' and review the names and locations of each continent, the names
and locations of the four oceans, the equator, and the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Read Maps and Globes by Harriet Barton. Then, ask some general questions about maps and globes How is a map different from a globe?
Why do we need maps? What do we use them for? What can we see on a map?How is a political map different from a physical map?

Review the names and locations of the continents, oceans, equator, the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres, Canada, United States, Mexico, your state, your city, and personal addresses.

Additional Ideas:

Practice reading and following maps in real situationsUse a map in the grocery store to locate certain aisles and items. Use a map at a park with
hiking areas to locate trails, playground, picnic areas, restrooms, etc. Use a map at a museum to locate exhibits or at a zoo to find specific animals.

Puzzles!Put together a world puzzle or a puzzle of the United States.

Learn about using a compass.Make a paper compass rose. Label. Discuss the more specific directions of northeast,
northwest, southeast, and southwest. Then, try using a real compass. Give specific directions to move around a large room, the backyard, a nearby playground, etc.

Make a small make-believe town!Collect boxes of all shapes and sizes, toilet paper rolls, small brown lunch sacks, construction
paper, popsicle sticks, etc. Think about what you want your town to have available - a library, school, homes, a store, park, etc. Use paper to create a small map of your town.
Then, set to work constructing buildings, trees, etc. from your collected materials!

Map Plans

Streets and Boxes

Painting the Town

Completed!

Flat TravelersRead Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Send a 'Flat Stanley' type of paper person in a letter to a
far away family member. (Maybe create a pig and name him Flat Toot!) Ask them to take photos of the 'Flat Stanley' while doing their everyday activities and visiting areas of interest
that are where they live. If you send your flat person to a variety of people and locations, over time, you may be able to collect postcards and information from many areas of the
United States and, hopefully, the world. Each time you receive 'Flat Stanley' back, mark the location on a large world map. Send a thank you note to the person/family that sent you a
postcard. OR Exchange 'Flat Stanley' with other homeschool families!

Animals of Each ContinentPlace an animal indigenous to each continent on the corresponding continent (examples below) and discuss how climate or habitat makes it possible for them to live where they are.
Read a related book for each!North America  buffaloSouth America  llama (Andes mountains)Europe  reindeer (northern part - Norway)Asia  panda (China)Africa  giraffe, lion, zebra
Australia  kangaroo, koala bearAntarctica  penguin  NO polar bears. They live at the North Pole =)

Toot and Puddle by Holly HobbieToot and Puddle: Top of the World by Holly Hobbie

Where Does Mail Go? by Melvin BergerThe Post Office Book by Gail GibbonsHere Comes the Mail by Gloria SkurzynskiA Day with a Mail Carrier by Jan Kottke
Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown

Mapping Penny's World by Loreen LeedyMe On the Map by Joan SweeneyWhere Do I Live? by Neil ChesanowMy Global Address by Tamara Nunn
Maps and Globes by Harriet BartonHow We Learned the Earth is Round by Patricia Lauber

Our World: A Child's First Picture Atlas by the National Geographic Society

Rookie Read About Geography by Judith Jensen Hyde (There is a book for each state in this series!)

Where Is My Continent? by Robin NelsonWhere Is My Country by Robin NelsonWhere Is My State? by Robin NelsonWhere Is My Town? by Robin NelsonWhere Is My Home? by Robin Nelson

Be My Neighbor by Maya Ajmera and John Ivanko

Living in a City by Lisa TrumbauerLiving in a Rural Area by Lisa TrumbauerLiving in a Small Town by Lisa TrumbauerLiving in a Suburb by Lisa Trumbauer

Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel KindersleyHeroes for Young Readers (series) - missionary stories from YWAM PublishingAround the World in 80 Tales by Savior Pirotta
Around the World Art and Activities: Visting the 7 Continents Through Craft Fun by Judy PressAround the Town: Exploring your Community Through Craft Fun by Judy PressSocial Studies Grade K- 1 - published by Frank Schaffer Publications

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